Thursday, February 10, 2011

Onesie!!! - McCall's 6251

This is my Christmas gift to myself. Almost 2 months late. That's how I roll!

Anyways, back in November, McCall's came out with some new patterns, and I almost freaked when I saw this one! Finally, a onesie for grown ups!

McCall's 6251

I bought the pattern with the L and XL, so I chose the Large and made some changes to it. Based on one of my favorite t-shirts, I decided 4" of ease at the chest and hips would be sufficient.

These are my alterations:Took in side seams by 1" on each pattern piece = 4" totalLengthened sleeves by 1" and legs by 1 1/2"

For a first try, it's pretty good! The crotch is a little long, and the hips are too snug to move around comfortably. Otherwise, everything is great!

Next time I will:Cut the Medium, altering for 4" ease at chest and 6" ease at hipsShorten torso by 2"Alter the length of sleeves and pantlegs

I was inspired by Sue Sylvester from Glee and her Adidas track suit. It has a ribbed neckline that tapers to nothing at the zipper, which I thought would be perfect for this. I cut some ribbing 2/3 smaller than my neckline, and just winged it. It worked! I topstitched my seams down so it would stay nice and flat. The only thing I would do differently next time is take only a 1/4" seam allowance at the neck. The neckline is huge! The ribbing helps to fill it in a little.

The ribbing for the sleeves is a smidge smaller than what they called for, because I was using scraps and needed to be stingy. I like them like this. I think I would do the ankle ribbing almost as tight, because it's kinda baggy and doesn't really do anything.

I wanted to make sure my zipper didn't go all wonky on me, so I was careful not to let anything stretch out. I basted the seam together, pressed it without pulling, and immediately slid one of my big rulers underneath it and pinned my zipper in place so it wouldn't stretch out when I sewed it. Turned out perfect!

And, of course, I had to put in my funky label.

This onesie only took me 4 hours to make. So much fun!

I'm making a batman one for a customer tomorrow, so I'll be sure to share pictures when I'm done! I can't wait to make more! I have 2 sewing friends who are going to make some, and I hope I've inspired some of you seamstresses to make some too! Wouldn't a red one with a back flap be so cute?

I am 5'10". If you're curious about what to do for someone 6'1", scroll down the pictures on the right side of my blog until you find Ken's blue batman onesie (not superman). He's 6'2", and I put in a lot of detail about the length alterations I did. Hope that helps. :)

About Me

I'm proud to say that I'm a seamstress. My mom taught me to sew when I was 12, and it took me a couple of years to catch the sewing bug. I think being tall had a lot to do with it, because I couldn't find clothes that fit. I had a lot of fun making pants in all kinds of bright colours. After high school, I decided I wanted to go to school and take a Fashion Design course. I took 2 years of Fashion Production at Olds College.
I worked with my dad at his upholstery shop for 6 1/2 years. I recently found an upholstery job 10 minutes from home. I absolutely love my job!
I've also put my sewing business on hiatus, and am hoping to enjoy some much-needed selfish sewing.
Welcome to my blog! I'm thrilled to be able to share many of my favorite projects with you. Enjoy!